Nothing At Every Turn (Sequel To Break Free Kakashi Story)
by goddamndamndamn
Summary: Fourteen years have passed since the mission that Kukyo and Kakashi went on in the estate. But things are happening there all over again. Things never got resolved back then, and Kakashi is still waiting on Kukyo's promise for them to reunite...
1. Chapter 1

Kakashi woke up with a frown on his face.

It wasn't that the dream had been unpleasant; really, it had been quite pleasurable (not in that way). It was more that he hadn't dreamt about that sort of thing in a long, _long_ time. And to be honest…he almost didn't want to dream about it anymore, because it only made him sad and longing for a time gone by. Was she dead? He'd started to wonder that when ten years had passed and he hadn't heard a thing. Kukyo would have come back by then, wouldn't she? Had Daraku found her? After the mission he'd told her it would all be okay—but that might not have been the case. It might have gone all wrong. He hadn't listened to her, and it might have been exactly like she had expected. He hadn't had dreams and guilt like this since Obito and Rin had died, and it had taken just as long for them to disappear. Following him around like malevolent spirits tormenting him and trying to take him with them to the grave.

But they had dissipated into the background eventually, and he had had to get on with his life. He had left the ANBU and become a sensei. It helped him leave some memories behind. Not many students passed his rigorous test, but eventually one team had: Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. Yet still things hadn't ended there. Sasuke had a darkness in him much like he had done when he was a child—his hadn't caused him to leave the village, however. And there clearly hadn't been enough they had done to stop him. But just like always they had to go on with their lives. Naruto had gone off to train with Jiraiya, and Sakura had trained with Tsunade. He in turn had spent his time training for the two and a half years Naruto was away, along with important missions now and again. He didn't want to lose touch and for anything to go wrong at any time now or in the future. Too much seemed to have done so already.

A little while back and Naruto had come back and they had all reunited, becoming Team Seven once more. Without Sasuke they were affected, but they had to do what was necessary, and after seeing what they had learned during their training, after the situation with the Kazekage, they had missions just like before—or at least that's what they'd been thinking. His day had gone on as normal—albeit wondering why exactly he had had the dream he'd had, but brushing it off for now, Kakashi continued with the usual routine. Forcing himself out of bed, he trudged into the shower and turned it to cold, the temperature helping to shake off the lingering feeling of the dream. He managed to push it to the back of his mind as he eventually got out, got dressed and had breakfast, but it began to return by the time he had exited his house and ambled through the streets of Konoha to the training grounds.

It didn't take him long to reach the KIA stone; the route was as familiar as anything by now, after all. It was when he reached there, however, that the thoughts about the dream hit him again. True, there were times when he was particularly stressed, or if he'd just had a really bad day and felt really depressed when he ended up having a dream about those who were gone. But nothing like that had happened recently. Nothing in general had happened recently—it had been pretty mundane and routine; just the regular missions and training. Then again, after the excitement of saving Gaara it was a bit of a relief to have things calm down. By the time he realised he had to be heading off, Kakashi had managed to push it all to the back of his mind once more. He finally met up with Naruto and Sakura, giving his excuse to them both that they didn't believe, before they all headed into the Hokage's building and stood before Tsunade to hear what they would be doing today. Only it wasn't quite what they had been expecting.

Naruto and Sakura were to be doing missions for just the two of them, or just training for now. Instantly they had protested, however; it wasn't supposed to be just them working together—Kakashi was a member of Team Seven too! Not to mention this wasn't just a day. This was for a while by the sounds of things. What exactly was so important that he was being taken away and put to something else without them for so long? But Kakashi himself was unable to give them the answer, as he didn't know. He hadn't a clue as to what this was all about, having had no word about it beforehand in order to prepare him—this was the first he had heard of it. But he was to be put on it right away; if he needed Naruto and Sakura to help out, then they could do so, but unless he requested, they would remain elsewhere. And with that comment, they were told to leave, Kakashi needing to be briefed on what to do, and sighing in irritation and confusion, they did so.

Glancing behind him as they left, Kakashi turned back to Tsunade and shook off the unusual situation. Sure, it was strange, but these things happened. He had to do what the Hokage ordered him to do, and as such, he questioned as to what she was asking of him, only to freeze as she began simply, staring him dead in the eye,

"It's the estate, Kakashi. It was left alone after your mission as a monument to all the people who died there. But people have been noticing things in the area; doors ripped off, rubble moved. Noises have also been heard, and reports of people, though whether or not they're true I don't know. So I want you to head over there and figure out fact from fiction. See what's going on and make sure nothing unusual is happening. You did the mission—you know more than most."

For a moment, Kakashi couldn't respond, caught between shock and incredulity. Having had the dream of so many things that had happened between him and Kukyo last night, to suddenly be told he was to be going back there and looking round, once again remembering all those things…he could barely believe it. In a way, Kakashi wasn't certain he really wanted to. He wasn't sure how to react. He didn't exactly like thinking about Kukyo leaving, a part of him feeling guilty for just letting her go and not doing more to stop her or persevering in going with her in her journey…but there had also been a lot of good memories of hanging out with her there. He would never have met her if it hadn't of been for the estate. But still…could he handle it?

As he considered these thoughts memories were beginning to flash up in his head, making him swallow hard with the recollection. Tsunade didn't do anything to rush him, knowing how hard this must be for him. When she'd heard what had been going on, she'd read the mission report and everything that had happened and understood their friendship—that this would be difficult. Kakashi glanced up at her, caught in his tumultuous thoughts, abruptly realising that Tsunade wanted a response. But then he also realised what he was thinking; Kukyo and him had done so much to stop all that had been going on there, and now there was a risk it was happening again. Kakashi couldn't refuse because of bad memories—he wouldn't let anyone try and start those experiments up again. Though something occurred to him as he ran that over in his mind, and looking back up at Tsunade again, he replied,

"I'll do it, Hokage-sama. I understand. But…there are also things—tools—from the experiments and furniture from many of the rooms that I didn't get to see. If things have been taken, moved, changed in there…I won't be able to tell."

But Tsunade merely smirked, appearing prepared for this comment, and grasping her hands together, she shrugged, responding simply,

"That's alright—we'll simply get help," before gesturing to the door, Kakashi turning to look, frowning in confusion as to who they could hire to help with something like this.

Only for his face to drop when he saw Kukyo standing there.


	2. Chapter 2

Fourteen years.

_Fourteen years._

Had it really been that long? Even with all that time, Kukyo never forgot how much time had passed between her leaving. She could never forget. It still haunted her. She hadn't found Daraku, even after all this time—and he hadn't made his move to face and attack. To kill? She wasn't sure. Though he had always hated her guts he had kept her alive, so there was no telling what he would do to her this time. But something would happen, regardless of how long it took. So she had to keep her guard up, every day, every moment—but then again, that's what she'd done every day of her life in the estate, so nothing was exactly different to how things had been back then. It was just Kakashi that was gone; missing from her life and who she often woke up and wished she could talk with him like the way they had done on the mission. It had always eased her fears and worries and made her feel better about anything that had been going on.

But that was no longer around. Kakashi had remained in Konoha while Kukyo had left. True, she had done what she had said she would do, and she _had_ seen new perspectives. She had seen new places, met new people, and her world had been opened to so many new things—and Kukyo was glad of that. That estate had been her world and that had changed entirely. But a part of her had wished Kakashi had been with her throughout it. There were times she had seen something and had automatically turned to tell him only to realise he wouldn't be there. True, she wouldn't have made him come for anything in the world. His place was in Konoha and he had needed to stay. However, it didn't get rid of that sense of longing—that feeling of guilt for causing the sadness in his eyes as she had told the Hokage what she was going to do. As they had had that conversation and as she had finally left.

It had always been there ever since she had gone, and she didn't think it would ever really leave. Not knowing he would be thinking about all the things that had happened just like she would. Sometimes she wished he would forget her, in order to ease the pain of her leaving. Then other times she hated the idea, and hoped that never occurred—Kukyo couldn't deal with Kakashi forgetting about her completely. If she saw him again one day, she needed to hope that she could reunite and talk to him just like they had done on the mission. Not that he would just pass on by and it would be like the mission had been nothing. Moments passed when Kukyo considered heading to Konoha; after all, it was logical to think that they might have found out information about Daraku. But she had travelled all over, and being alone it was easier to hide in the shadows, hear and see things that groups could not. If she hadn't heard anything, Konoha wouldn't have. So she had remained away from the village, wondering if she would ever go back.

Then that moment had come. A man in Konoha garb had approached her, and called her name—he was definitely there to talk to her. She had instantly frozen, not knowing quite why, as he was clearly of no threat, instead doing nothing as he came up to her and nodded in greeting, eventually managing to do the same in return. What possible reason could he be here? For her, no less. But then he had told her; what was going on with the estate, and what needed to be done. A part of her was hesitant, wondering how things would turn out if she returned to that place, having not wanted to ever go back…but she could see Kakashi. She could see Konoha. Not to mention she had said she would put a stop to everything that was happening in the estate all those years ago. Even if time had passed, if it had started up again, she would need to do the same. It had been fourteen years, after all.

That was long enough.

So Kukyo had agreed, and travelling back with the messenger, after a week or so, she had finally arrived in Konoha, the village appearing on the horizon like it had done back then. Her heart increased just like before, and she headed to the Hokage's building in much the same way. Her steps had been laboured as she walked along the corridors, and when she had finally entered the room and seen Kakashi, all she could do was murmur,

"Hey."

They continued to stare at each other, not saying anything else to begin with. Both of their hearts were pounding in their chests at having not seen each other in so long, excitement building up at the situation—but they didn't move. They didn't rush forward and tackle each other in a hug, remaining in silence as so many thoughts and feelings rushed through their minds and bodies. It was impossible for them to explain them; to express them. There was nothing Kukyo and Kakashi could do but stand there and accept them, or wait for them to die down a little before they could do anything about them. Tsunade understood what they were going through, however, and so did nothing to disturb their reunion, smiling not at the expressions on their faces, but at the emotions showing through in their eyes.

Then eventually Kukyo moved forward and towards Kakashi, greeting him again, and this time he was able to greet her in return, Tsunade explaining afterwards,

"I sent a messenger to find her—I knew no one else would know the estate like she would. But now that she's here, Kakashi…you can get started on the mission."

Nodding along with her words, they both turned and left the room and the building, ambling along the street in the direction of the gates of Konoha and the estate. Neither of them noticed Naruto and Sakura watching them as they did so, having wanted to know what was going on with Kakashi's situation and now even more curious seeing him hanging out with this woman. Wondering who she was and just what their relationship was, they glanced at each other but decided not to follow any further—Kakashi was never easy to follow, meaning Kakashi and Kukyo continued alone, in silence to begin with. They weren't sure what to say at first; so much time had passed since Kukyo had been there and they had hung out together. So much had happened—where could they start? But knowing he had to start somewhere, and that they couldn't just walk around in silence until something came up, Kakashi blurted out abruptly,

"Where did you go?"

"All over. I was partly looking for Daraku, and partly just exploring. I learnt new things, saw new places, met new people. It gave me time to get a grip on things, and helped me understand myself better. Then I got approached and I knew I had to come back. I hadn't been sure…going back to the estate when things had been so bad—when everything had gone wrong to begin with…but I had wanted to stop things when I'd been living there, and if things were starting up again, I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't let history repeat. I could keep Konoha safe. There was a chance I would find Daraku, too. What about you?"

He told Kukyo about how he left the ANBU, about his team and about how he was doing more jonin missions, along with the news of Konoha. She wasn't sure what to say at all of this—so much had changed. But as he pointed out; she'd been gone so long.

"But you're back now—you can start again."

She smirked and nodded, but she didn't give a proper answer to his statement. As much as she was enjoying being back at Konoha again, seeing Kakashi and learning about all that had gone on, there was still a part of her that was hesitant. She couldn't bring herself to simply agree and join in with the whole thing—to become one with the village. There was that part of her that couldn't become one; there was still so much she hadn't told Kakashi…and she couldn't simply agree to it all. As much as she wanted to do what he wanted…

Kukyo still didn't know if she could be a part of Konoha.


	3. Chapter 3

Kukyo didn't say anything else as they continued walking, not wanting to disappoint Kakashi, but not wanting to lie to him and agree with the whole idea when she wasn't sure about it yet. But he seemed to accept her silence as assent and didn't push it further, and they continued onwards, chatting here and there. Catching up on things they'd both missed, and talking in general otherwise, just pleased to be in each others presences for the most part—whether Kukyo was going to join Konoha or not, she was glad to see Kakashi again. She knew she had missed him for certain, and that was a fact, so she could at least concentrate on that part as they walked through the forest towards the estate.

Her conversation grew lesser the closer they got to the estate; but she had lived in that place all her life, and even with the amount of time she had spent travelling and seeing new things around the world…she could never forget the exact location. Even without seeing features she recognised, she could just feel its presence in the air, like a fog that seemed to swirl around and cover her, and slow her down at the same time. She wasn't going to let it stop her, but the memories were there in the back of her mind—it was the exact reason she would be able to go back. They were always there; what difference would it make if she was standing in the estate itself? They haunted her regardless, and most likely always would. She just hadn't thought that the effect would still be as strong even after all these years. Was it because Daraku was still out there? She didn't know—but it wasn't going to be easy.

Kakashi noticed right away when Kukyo began to act differently, and it wasn't exactly hard to tell why. He'd been with her for a long time on that mission, and come to understand at least some parts of how things had been for her while she lived there. She'd lived a hard life because of Daraku, and even when trying to take him down during the mission, it hadn't worked, and Kukyo had had to know he'd gotten away and was still out there, wanting to get his revenge on her. Now she was going back to the place where it had all happened, and he knew from experience that memories remained with you, regardless of time—and he didn't have to deal with going back to the place that it had happened. Kukyo did, and he couldn't imagine how difficult it must be, meaning he stepped forward to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Blinking in surprise, she glanced up at Kakashi, seeing a kindness in his eyes and a gentleness he didn't show very often. How many people out there shared an understanding of what she was going through right now? She doubted it was many, and thankful for that, she didn't look away, abruptly glad more than ever that it was Kakashi here with her. Smirking at that fact, she nodded in thanks for his support as they now continued on, the forest seemingly darker than it had been before but pressing on all the same. All Kukyo could do was put one foot in front of the other, memories coming back to them both of the mission all those years ago. The silence was oppressive; whereas numerous animals had been around earlier there was nothing anymore. Everything had gone, and it was only a few minutes later that they found out why.

The estate appeared up ahead.

Both of them came to a halt, staring at the entrance for a moment. Kakashi couldn't help but recall what had happened during the mission; what had gone wrong. Kukyo was reminded of all that had come before—her life. This was where she had grown up and all she had ever known. It was no longer that way, of course, but to see it now as a mere memory…it was strange. Her heartbeat was fast and she swallowed hard, nothing showing on the outside, but not out of choice—because she was trying to hold it all in. Although her body was reacting on the inside, there was nothing that needed to be let out. It was gone—empty. She might be uncertain as to the idea of returning to the estate, but the rest was hollow.

A little while later and they entered into the estate and began to look round; choosing the boundaries first to see if there were any signs of people entering that way. After that they would work their way in and check for signs of things missing and such, but for now it was whether anyone had come in in the first place. They may have started by just looking around; just seeing what was here or what had taken place. The space may have interested them—wanting to rebuild it for a different purpose. They could use the material already available and therefore things would be quicker. Though these were all theories—Kukyo had to find any signs of people being here to begin with. Entering through the main entrance she had sensed nothing, so it was obvious there had been no one through there. But people may be more wary of being seen in a place like this—

Which was more evident when Kukyo sensed numerous presences a moment later.

They were recent, as well, and following where the presences trail seemed to go through the estate, Kukyo tried to tell what exactly was going on. What they might have been here for—to steal what was left from the experiments. To find out what Daraku had been doing when he had been here to replicate it somewhere else. To take over the area and use it for something else. But as far as you could tell, there were no answers coming up, and you weren't sure what to do, turning to Kakashi and saying simply,

"I can't see anything that suggests something's really happening. I sensed where they went, but nothing seems to be going on with them. But then again, they'd have to be pretty stupid to try and do anything in an area that Konoha has been keeping an eye on all this time."

Without a clue as to what was going on, Kakashi instead suggested they walk around the estate, outside of the buildings for now for this first day—just to reacquaint themselves with the place. Kukyo nodded along with the idea; maybe if she reminded herself of the place again, she _would_ be able to figure out the answer to why these guys had come to the estate. It had been more than ten years since she had been here. Although most of her life had been spent here, a lot had changed since then, and in that time she had tried to forget. She had wanted to have a different life. So by walking around maybe things would make more sense to her.

They never went inside any of the buildings, looking over a lot of rubble from where they had blown them up upon trying to finish the mission and take down her father. But even so the memories kept on coming back, flashing up in the back of her mind and forcing her to push them away every time. Kukyo fists became permanently clenched the longer they were there—she hated the place, she realised. It reminded her of who she used to be. Or of who Daraku had forced her to be. She had never wanted to be like that, but he had always made her. He treated her badly, acted like she was nothing, and in turn, the rest of the ninjas working there did. Though the guards were supposed to be inferior to her—though she didn't want it to be that way—they didn't know how to act towards her. They weren't sure of her, yet they saw how her father and the others talked to her. Kakashi was the only good thing that had been there.

When they camped there that night, it was like it had been during the mission. They didn't have to keep quiet or hide, of course, considering there was no longer anything to hide from, but sitting together like that still brought back memories. But at least they were good ones. At least now they had a fire and things were a little more comfortable, and they sat there talking, reminding themselves of the friendship and rekindling it once more. Then just like always they decided to get some rest, this time not needing to keep watch, Kukyo glancing at Kakashi as she laid down and feeling a lot more ready to deal with the mission.

But it couldn't get rid of everything about this place.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything had gone as normal—they'd done it hundreds; no, thousands of times and nothing had been any different. It was only as the night went by that things began to change. Both of them had managed to slip into sleep, even with how things were. They both had a lot on their minds, and so much had happened in a short space of time. Kukyo had come back after fourteen years of being away and having not seen each other—of missing each other that entire time. Of finding out that strange things were going on in the estate and that they both had been assigned to take a look at it and see if anything was happening and to take care of it if there was. The memories of the mission they had done together so long ago coming back to them; well, when they first met in general and when Daraku had gotten away. The memories of Kukyo's life in the estate, and how things had been for her before she had met Kakashi.

To be honest, when they had settled down, neither of them had been sure if they would be able to get to sleep—or if it would be easy to do so. That it might take them half the night to finally fall asleep, or it would be in bits and pieces, waking up after an hour and remaining awake for a while, only to fall asleep again. So to simply drift off like they did, after only a few minutes…it was surprising, to say the least. They were grateful for the rest they were getting, and at least Kakashi had remained that way. His sleep had been unbroken, with nothing disturbing him, unlike the night before, with no dreams—it was all blank. Whether the estate was having that effect on him, or he was just determined not to think about anything, he wasn't sure—but it was definitely better this way.

It wasn't the same for Kukyo, however. Although back when she had agreed to help out on the mission with Kakashi, her sleep had at least calmed, it had never fully gone away. It had faded when she travelled for those years after she left, only having a night here and there when she heard rumours or felt she was getting close. But now she was back in the estate; now the surroundings were just like they used to be and she was dealing with the idea that someone might be doing something here…it was causing them all again, and it didn't take very long before the images began to appear before her eyes. Just like always it was surround sound and high detail—like she was living it, and she knew it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Even if it faded to something she only had now and again, it would still remain. She would never be able to fully get rid of it, and when she did have it, it would always be as awful each time, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The images, the sounds, the memories…they all circled around her, everything she had experienced and gone through, reminding her of the pain and loneliness. Kakashi had saved her from it and taken her away, but he couldn't get rid of what had happened for all those years before he had turned up. Her nightmare continued, and she began to jerk and twitch, soft cries coming from her mouth as it started to overwhelm her. A frown of pain appeared on her face, tightening in distress but unable to get away from it; locked in her nightmare with nowhere to escape. She tried to run—to find a place to hide from all of the torment, but there was nothing. There was no way for Kukyo to tell herself it was just a dream; to use a technique to force it to the back of her mind and brush it aside like it didn't matter, because for her, at the moment, it _was_ real. It was all occurring all over again.

She struggled against her bonds, the ninja coming towards her…

And she woke up, for a moment still unable to breathe, having to force herself to inhale and tell herself it was possible. She was dripping in sweat, shaking terribly and her heart was pounding in her chest, irregular and much faster than it should be. Her pupils were dilated as she glanced nervously around the clearing again and again, searching for her invisible pursuers, until abruptly her gaze landed on Kakashi. It was never something that had happened before—she had never had a nightmare, woken up and he had been there. But he was something good in her life that was utterly different to what was in her nightmares, and what Kukyo now focused on, slowly allowing her to stop shaking and her heartbeat and breathing to begin to return to normal.

But she wasn't right. She couldn't just sit here, lie back down and go to sleep—at least not yet. She needed a little more time first. And as such, Kukyo did what she'd done ever since she was young and she'd had those nightmares: she got up and went for a walk, passing by everything in the camp and heading into the trees. But it was as she did so that Kakashi's eyes flashed open; his dreamless sleep and years as a ninja meaning he was easily awoken by her movement, and glancing over to see her leave, he instantly got up to follow. This place didn't exactly put him at ease either, and so he couldn't imagine what it must be like for her.

As such, he followed on behind, not immediately revealing his presence, however. To begin with he simply watched her, seeing the way she stared aimlessly through the trees, walking in no particular direction and with no particular goal. She had something on her mind—and it wasn't anything good, and with how it was their first night staying at the estate, Kakashi got the feeling he knew what it was, finally deciding to talk to her, and so, going up to Kukyo, she snapped her head round in surprise, having had no idea he'd woken up and seen she was gone. But feeling a little guilty that he was now awake, she began apologetically,

"Sorry—did I wake you?"

But Kakashi shrugged at her words, shaking his head at the idea of Kukyo waking him up as he responded gently,

"I wasn't exactly sleeping deeply to begin with. But…are you okay? This place makes me feel unsettled, so it can't be easy on you. Is it making you have nightmares?"

Glancing down, she smirked, though Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he instantly noted it wasn't a happy one. It was accepting, enduring—knowing there was nothing more she could do, and this was evident as she said simply,

"I always get them anyway. It always haunts me. My father's still out there…and I don't know where he is."

Kakashi paused as Kukyo said this. He hadn't forgotten about Daraku; anything but. They had spoken about it earlier today and how he felt guilty about how having not managed to stop him—or at least capture him. Kukyo had placated him by saying she had never blamed him, and that if anything it had been more her fault because she hadn't been able to face him up front. She had comforted him, and they had moved on in their conversation, with Daraku moving to the back of his mind. But he had still been there—and with those words, he was only brought to the front once more. Kukyo had said she had been looking for him while she travelled, but had never come across him; but that one day he would want to take revenge on her. It was as this thought crossed his mind that Kakashi now spoke up and replied,

"Wait—do you think it's him?"

Kukyo considered it—not that she hadn't already from the very moment the messenger had approached her to tell her about what was going on in Konoha. Right from the beginning as she headed back to the village she had thought over the idea. She knew Daraku would want revenge on her, after all, and he had used the estate as his headquarters, doing all the experiments from there. Even if he wasn't fully going to make a move from there, there could be something he wanted to get. But there was a lot to take into account, and she knew it. She had to be rational here, prompting her response to be calm as she said,

"I can't sense him nearby. But this place…it just heightens things for me."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Kukyo glanced up to see Kakashi smiling down at her, being able to tell even through his mask. And with that one action, she felt the last after effects of her nightmare slipping away, and smirking back at him, she stated softly,

"Come on—we need to get some rest," before they both began to head back to the clearing, Kukyo knowing one thing for sure at least—

She wouldn't be able to do any of this if Kakashi wasn't here with her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day both of them were up early, getting on with their morning routine.

The unnerving feeling of the estate still hung in the air; though it was empty and no longer had the experiments and people living here that it once had, it didn't need to. In a way, it almost made it worse. At least when there had been people there they had known that that was what was causing the problems and making everything go wrong. But now there was none of that, only what remained of the buildings and the memories of what had occurred. The place still remembered what had happened, and the atmosphere clung to it all like a mist, spreading it around and never letting go. It was why the third Hokage and Tsunade had known not to try and do anything with the land—it couldn't be touched now. Forever more it would be haunted by what Daraku had done, and whoever came here would feel it—Kukyo more than most.

She had managed to shake off the remnants of the nightmare she had had last night, glad Kakashi had come to find her, having gotten a bit more sleep once they headed back and settled down again. But like Kakashi had said, her sleep hadn't been deep, and this time it had been completely without dreams, on the edge of slumbering where it wouldn't have taken much to wake her up. Luckily enough, however, there hadn't been anything more to rouse her from her stupor, and so she had remained asleep for the rest of the night, though it was at dawn that she awoke. As she got up and began to get ready for the day, she noticed Kakashi was doing the same, nodding in greeting as their routines synced, asking casually as they did so,

"It's not easy to sleep long in this place, is it?"

He smirked back at her, shrugging at the idea, but realising the situation, he eventually responded softly,

"No—but actually…I normally get up around this time anyway."

Blinking in surprise at that fact, Kukyo nodded in agreement, voicing that fact out loud. When living in the estate the nightmares, the worry and the uncertainty about what would happen and what would be going on had kept her on edge and ultimately meant she hadn't been sleeping for long—sometimes for only a couple of hours. She tried to get herself to sleep as much as she could, but regardless of how much she slept, she always woke up at dawn, often watching the sun rise and using it as a way to help her feel more hopeful about the day to come. What exactly it was that meant Kakashi got up at this time, as it didn't seem to be because of work or the like, Kukyo didn't know, but she didn't press it, simply continuing on, liking the fact that they had something else in common with each other.

Making sure that they had everything they needed, they began to check over everything in the estate, this time looking at things they hadn't yesterday. They were planning on being a lot more thorough in their search now, as although they hadn't found anything definitive yesterday, they had found a few things that had showed people had been around the area. If that was the case, however, there was no telling what they might find if they looked carefully, and that was what they needed to do today, and so they started off right away. They went over what they'd already looked at regardless, looking over the area more meticulously to make sure they didn't miss anything. Though Kakashi didn't know the place like Kukyo did, he'd still spent a lot of time there when he'd done his mission there, and so he could at least spot if any changes had happened around here. When they got to the buildings, it would be another matter completely, but for now, it was alright, and the work gave something for Kukyo to focus on.

They continued on this way for a few hours, beginning to make their way round to the entrance of the estate. They weren't planning on making such a detailed search around here, as they already knew that the people Kukyo had sensed had come in another way—but there was no harm in taking another look. So they checked around to make sure there was nothing they had missed yesterday, when they noticed something neither of them had been expecting in the slightest; but for once, it was Kakashi that was the one who was unsure what to do. As he stood there, he saw Naruto and Sakura making their way towards him, and narrowing his eyes, he could only wait as they finally reached him and greeted him happily, finally allowing him to ask them what the hell they were doing there when Tsunade had told them that they were to be doing their own missions and training back at the village.

"We're here to help, Kakashi-sensei. Tsunade-sama said you might need some back up, so she sent us," Sakura explained, and glancing over at Kukyo, she shrugged at the idea, and as such, he gestured to them both and said simply,

"Kukyo, this is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is Sakura Haruno. They're my students. You two—this is Kukyo Aimi."

Nodding in greeting, Kukyo smirked as they immediately smiled and spoke up to greet her and say how this mission should be 'awesome' with all they'd heard about it. But with the introduction over and done with, Kakashi pointed out they had best be getting on with the mission Naruto had just been ranting about, and so they began to head off once again. As they did so, Kakashi told them the basics of what they were doing; checking to see if anyone had disturbed the estate, removed anything, done anything to it…the usual. Therefore they were checking it over for any signs of activity—Naruto and Sakura could just look for recent signs of activity; footprints, broken tree branches, fire pits. He and Kukyo would be looking for anything more detailed considering they knew the estate better than they did, and so they returned to what they had been doing before they had turned up—

But things weren't over just yet.

As they looked round, Naruto couldn't help but look the place over. Like everyone else who went there, and like Sakura was, he kept getting shivers up his spine, and he felt tense though he knew no one was around. He just couldn't help but feel this sense of danger tied in with the very area itself, but he had no idea what it was—though it was making his instincts act up. Glancing over at Sakura he saw her swallow hard, sticking close to him, and unable to take it anymore, he questioned quietly,

"So what is this place? It's really creepy. "

Immediately Sakura shot him a look, trying to tell him silently to shut up, knowing the place had a connection to Kukyo and not wanting to offend her—but what really made Naruto jolt was seeing Kakashi glare at him over his shoulder, telling him the same thing Sakura was. Kakashi got serious…but never angry, and it was kind of scary, but it was all cut off as his question was suddenly answered when Kukyo's soft voice abruptly began absentmindedly as she went on walking,

"A man lived here many years ago. He built up his own group; organization…whatever you want to call it. He was trying to build an army and he didn't care who got in his way—Konoha included. He was a cruel man, and he did some awful things in this place, which will never be erased. But it was shut down, and a lot of it destroyed. Though he managed to escape, and he's still out there; watching…waiting."

No one said anything for a few moments after she finished, taken in by her words and unsure what exactly to say in response. Kakashi knew a lot of what she had been through, and hearing her say it like that only brought back memories. Sakura was shocked; she had had no idea that something like that had happened here. She hadn't thought it would be something of that scale…but Naruto was still curious. The way Kukyo had spoken…just the way she was in general…she was unusual. Not in a bad way, but there was something about her. And from what he had been told, he wanted to know more, prompting him to question bluntly,

"Tsunade-sama said you'd help Kakashi-sensei because you knew a lot about this place. Did you know the guy?"

Once again, the others tried to silently get him to shut up—it was clear this place affected her—but just like before, she didn't even stop as she walked on, merely stating softly as she continued,

"He was my father."

But no one had anything to say to that.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto and Sakura had known the situation was unusual when it came down to the estate, and they knew that Kukyo was connected to it somehow. With the story she had told them, it had surprised them, having had no idea something like that had occurred so close to the village, and the possibility of such horrible things happening here. But neither of them had expected Kukyo would be the daughter of the man who had created all of that; who had been the one to hurt all those people back then. It brought them to a halt as they heard it, shocked at the news. Obviously she wasn't like her father—if she had been, then Konoha wouldn't have welcomed her and Kakashi wouldn't be working with her like he was. But to have to deal with all of that…it couldn't have been easy.

Kakashi knew all that was passing through their minds; knew from the expressions on their faces that they weren't mistrusting of her—thank god—and that they were most likely trying to imagine how things must have been for her with a father like that. How things were in general, knowing your father was able to hurt people in the way he was. Glad that they weren't going to question whether Kukyo could be allowed to help out with all of this when she was Daraku's daughter, there was still the matter of Naruto having asked the question of how she knew 'the guy' in the first place. If he was willing to ask something like that, there was a risk of him asking numerous others that would go way over the line, and Kakashi wasn't about to allow that, prompting him to go over to them both, glancing between them both but focusing mostly on Naruto as he stated firmly,

"Look; lay off, alright? You don't know what Kukyo has been through—and she's been through a lot. No more questions, you hear me?"

After the revelation of who her father was, Naruto nodded slowly in acceptance, Sakura voicing out loud her agreement, before they all started off again to catch up with Kukyo as she had continued walking while they had all stopped. The day continued from there, with all of them continuing to search the estate more carefully for any signs that anyone had come in and been looking for anything or moved anything around. So far they hadn't found a thing, but they were moving closer to the centre of the estate now, where most of the more important buildings had been situated—the ones where the majority of the experiments had taken place, where those that had been kidnapped had been imprisoned and where anything was developed for use. If any activity had happened within the estate, it was more likely to have happened here.

This time, however, they were going to go inside of the buildings. Kukyo was a little unsure about how things would go, but she knew she had to do it. She wasn't alone, and Naruto and Sakura had also joined them, so the effect the buildings would normally have on her wouldn't be as bad this time. Not to mention she and Kakashi had destroyed a huge amount of the buildings at the end of the mission last time—the majority of them were just rubble with the tools and furniture scattered inside. That wasn't as frightening to her as walking into a still whole and working building with everything still in place and looking like it could easily be started up again with a quick clean. She had come back to the estate after fourteen years—she could do this, and she wouldn't let the village down when they had asked for her help.

Seeing the shell of a building appearing just up ahead the moment she thought that, Kukyo continued to search around her, but pointing it out to Kakashi, they all began to head over to it. Once they finally reached it, they picked an area of the building that was low enough for them to climb over and headed inside, returning Kakashi's encouraging look with a firm nod, which he couldn't help but smirk at. She'd come a long way from how things had been before. Thinking about when he'd first met her, she hadn't approached him—there was a risk of how he might have reacted, true, but there was also a nervousness about it as well. Then with what he had seen when those other ninja treated her so badly and the way she reacted…she had just accepted it. But it wasn't that way anymore—Kukyo was stronger in herself and had moved on. Yes, the estate still haunted her, and parts of it always would—but he himself knew what it was like to never be able to forget a part of your past. All they could do was do what they could in the present, and so Kakashi continued into the building with the others.

The light was dappled in here; some walls still standing, creating shadows and others short and allowing light in. Plants had begun to grow here and there, but it hadn't collapsed—there were still sections where several rooms had been. And most importantly were the tools scattered across the floor, and the machines that remained placed against the walls, some in their original positions, albeit very damaged after the explosions Kakashi and Kukyo had caused. As they continued forward, looking around at what was left, although the others could point out what they were seeing—and none of it was particularly comforting—they couldn't exactly say if any of it revealed if anyone had been inside the estate. If anyone had removed tools, been around the machines or generally come inside the building at all.

Kukyo could, however; and it was precisely what she had feared. From the ways things had looked from the wall, it didn't look to be too big a deal—just a couple of people coming in too see what the place was and why it was abandoned. She had hoped it wasn't anyone trying to take things; knowing what the machines did and wanting to get them working again, or at least salvage parts to build another. But it was clear someone had been moving things around, touching the machines, and she could sense the presence of several people here, though nothing had actually been used. Telling Kakashi this, she could see him narrow his eyes with the news, not looking particularly happy either. What these people had come here for, she still didn't know, but remembering something, she told them all to stay where they were as she headed off into another section of the building and what used to be another room to see if any scrolls had been looked at.

As she disappeared behind the wall, Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but turn to Kakashi. Though he had told them that asking Kukyo any questions wasn't allowed, there were still things they wanted to know about the estate, and now that Kukyo wasn't here, it seemed like Kakashi was the only person they could go to for answers. Hearing their soft call, he turned to see them both looking at him with serious but curious looks on their faces, and knowing what was coming, he nodded in assent as Naruto began,

"So how do you two know each other, Kakashi sensei?"

"I had a mission here a long time ago—Kukyo was here because of her father, and she helped me out with the mission. Together we shut this place down and we became friends," Kakashi responded simply, not wanting to go into too much detail—but narrowing her eyes as something occurred to her, Sakura questioned,

"But wait; if Kukyo-chan joined Konoha after the mission, then how come we've never seen her?"

"She left to travel right after the mission ended, and she's only just returned. Her father and the rest of the ninja here didn't treat her well so she needed to get away, and I won't ask her for the full details as it still affects her now," he explained, causing both Naruto and Sakura to nod in agreement and state they wouldn't ask about it either.

When Kukyo came back a minute or so later, she reported that some of the scrolls had been looked at, but nothing else, and overall, nothing had been taken. With that in mind, all of them headed out of the building and searched around it, seeing if there was any more signs of people nearby, where they might have camped or such, but although Kukyo could sense their presence, they found no solid evidence. As such, as the sun began to set, Naruto and Sakura headed back to Konoha with their help finished for the day, leaving Kakashi and Kukyo alone as they headed back to their camp. For a few moments there was silence, until eventually Kakashi felt he needed to speak, saying quietly,

"I'm sorry for Naruto, Kukyo. He's a loudmouth, and he doesn't know when to stop," but his apology was cut off as she shook her head and responded softly,

"No; it's ok. Even if he _is_ a loudmouth, if you're working on a mission, you have to know the background. And I can't hide it—it would only seem suspicious if I avoided saying it…as much as I'd like to forget it. But I can't."

"It doesn't mark who you are," Kakashi instantly shot back, his gaze now serious and his voice firm as he continued, "You're nothing like your father and you're your own person. It doesn't matter and it never has."

And instantly…all Kukyo's fears faded away.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto and Sakura reported what had happened at the estate to Tsunade, but she didn't feel they needed to return—there wasn't much they could do that Kakashi and Kukyo weren't already doing. And like they had said when they first arrived, they didn't know the area, and so they couldn't exactly tell if anything had been moved or if anything had changed, whether recently or formerly. No one could, really, as it wasn't a place that had been frequented at all apart from Daraku and his ninjas. Kakashi and Kukyo, however, could tell any changes, and so it was best if the mission remained just with the both of them working on it. A message had been sent to tell them both this, but neither had minded—they worked well together, and to be honest, they had things to catch up on; if anything…they were glad of it.

So for the next couple of days they continued searching in much the same way they had been doing before, but they were able to talk more freely with each other. Not because any threats had disappeared or because Naruto and Sakura were no longer around, but because Kukyo had been back long enough for things to come into the open. Things had changed since Kukyo had left back then, and to begin with upon coming back, neither had been sure how to act around each other. Would things still be the same? They hadn't been able to tell, and it was why they had been treading carefully. True, they were still friends, and they did want to remain that way, but there were things that had blocked their friendship from being the way it had been before. But now they had spent this time together, seen more than even when they were on that mission…

That was no longer the case.

This mission strangely felt as much about spending time with each other as much as it did about solving what was going on here—even with the situation being what it was with her father. Kukyo didn't want to forget about that; not that she ever could or would be able to do so, and both of them wanted to make sure nothing would happen in the estate. They knew from experience this place was malevolent, so bringing it back to life was a bad idea.

Maybe it was because they didn't need to hide anymore. When Kakashi had been on his mission here and Kukyo had begun to help him, Kakashi had needed to hide because he had been from Konoha. Kukyo had needed to hide because she had decided to help him and nobody could be allowed to find out she was helping him or that he was even there. They had been going to take the place down and her father with it, after all. Not to mention she had to be in certain places at certain times so her father wouldn't get suspicious, so they couldn't talk whenever they wanted. She didn't have complete freedom like Kakashi did.

Not that it was like that now. They could walk around at any time, in any place, without any worry about being caught. True, they were there to check out the possibility of other people being in the estate, and had found signs of activity, but if anything, this time it would be the other way around. Those people would be hiding from _them_. It meant that they could talk as they did the mission, not only catching up but getting just as—if not more—close as they had been all those years ago as they spent time with each other. The estate wasn't a place that put Kukyo at ease, but by having Kakashi with her, and talking like they were made things a lot easier, helping her to keep her mind focused and elsewhere as she went about the mission without having to think about all the bad things that had happened when she had been living here.

It meant that, although she was still worried about her past, the fact that her father was still alive hovering at the back of her mind and the idea that he might have at least _something_ to do with this, there was still a part of her that was thinking of the future. That maybe she could move on—whereas all that had occurred so far in her life was that the estate and Daraku had ruled everything she did and had been her world. Then when she had left after the mission and travelled around, things had continued to haunt her regardless of what she did, and had felt that it always would. But now it was different. That although Kukyo knew she could never truly get away from it all, she could at least do other things—have her own life. And with that thought fresh in her mind, she couldn't help but consider the idea that maybe…maybe she _could_ join Konoha.

It had always been something she had shaken off; dismissed, and that she could never do because of what had gone on in her life. That as much as Kakashi wanted her to join the village, become a ninja and build a life there, she could never fully agree to it, always avoiding truly complying with the whole thing. Even walking to the estate, when Kakashi had mentioned it then, Kukyo had brushed it aside as a dream that would never become reality. Only it was beginning to change now. She was dealing with being in the estate again, and coming back and seeing Konoha had only reminded her of what she wished she could have, backed up by having seen so much on her journey over the years.

Then there was seeing Kakashi again. Since first meeting him he had helped her so much, done so much for her. He had believed in her, trusted her when no one else would have done in that situation, and empathised and sympathised with how she had to live and how she was treated. Kukyo had never been able to really have proper friends as she grew up, but Kakashi was more than enough to make her forget all that. It had been the worries about her past and her father that had made her leave after the mission, but it hadn't been easy, and she had been so happy to see him again. The feeling remained as she saw they were as close as they had been before, and having become adults in the time that had passed, grown even closer.

Because that in itself was something to think about. The two of them had met in the middle of a mission and were constantly hiding from people; they had a lot to concentrate on, even as they became close friends throughout it all. So they hadn't really focused on each other's appearances—not that it was something that had ever mattered to them in the first place. But now they were grown up, and they could see they had matured…developed. Kukyo still carried something pure about her, but her intense eyes gave a new level to her beauty, revealing the things she'd learnt and what she had been through on her journey over the years. Kakashi had always been mature, and with a mask remaining over his face, there was no way to see how he'd changed, but his body had broadened and become more muscular, and there was a gentler look in his eyes—he was no longer in the ANBU, that was clear.

There were things about them that had changed, but in a good way. Kukyo knew that coming into contact with Kakashi during his ANBU mission had been a turning point in her life, and if it wasn't for him, so much wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't be the person she was now if she hadn't of met him. But with that being the case, and with the amount of time they were spending with each other now, Kukyo couldn't help but feel that she wanted to stay with Kakashi, even with the worries about her past, her father…the things she done…her before hesitation at joining Konoha. Kakashi had always been there for her, and with him things always turned out alright.

But evidently it couldn't always be that way.

This was only proven as they headed into another building towards the epicentre of the explosion they had created to end the mission. Searching around the place for any signs of activity; that anything had been moved etc., Kukyo went into what was left of the back room to look around there and instantly froze. She checked several times, but she knew—several scrolls had been taken, and with that in mind, she looked over the main room, her heartbeat increasing as she found relatively fresh blood. Then the worst part of all—one of the machines had been replaced.

And that meant they were trying to do it all over again.


	8. Chapter 8

She immediately turned and told Kakashi the news, and she saw his eyes harden as she spoke. He wanted to stop this from happening just like she did, and they had to find a way to do so. They remained in the building for a while, talking over just what had been moved around and changed and where they could go from here—as these people were planning on doing the experiments all over again, what would they do next? Before they headed back out and over to their camp to take a break and deal with the news. After all, Kakashi knew Kukyo was finding this hard.

He'd known from the very moment she'd turned round to speak to him. As they'd been talking throughout the day things had been good—great, even. There had been a gleam in her eyes he hadn't even seen when they had gotten close during the mission back when they first met, and she seemed relaxed and okay with things. Even though they were looking round the estate, Kukyo had been fine. But as she spun to face him, Kakashi knew that time was gone. Her eyes were dark and hollow, and she was pale and drawn, her whole body tense and on edge with what she'd seen. It was obvious why she was like that when she began speaking, but even as he comforted her, there was only so much he could do. Until the estate had been shut down for good, Kukyo would never be able to rest peacefully.

And it wasn't the only thing that was on her mind as they began walking back to the camp—as time went by and they looked for more clues. Kukyo tried to hold it back; to stay calm, but no matter what she did, it began to claw its way through her body and mind. She wondered whether to tell Kakashi, but that part of her that was worried about the way she had been while living with Daraku—the things she had done and the person she had used to be—it rose up within her whenever she considered it and she couldn't bring herself to confess. But without anyone to discuss it with, it remained inside her head, and it never got any easier. There were so many things on her mind now that they had discovered the machine had been replaced and people truly were making a move in the estate:

Was it her father?

Before Kukyo had considered the possibility of it being random missing nins from any part of the world who had heard about the estate and what had happened here all those years ago. Heard of what Daraku had done and what the experiments had been able to grant to those it was used on and had wanted to try it on someone, and so had come to the area to try and find some information. Or maybe some thieves looking for anything valuable they could steal to sell. Hell, it could just be people down on their luck passing through and wanting a place to get out of the rain so they had seen the buildings were abandoned and therefore gone in there.

But still…at the same time it could be the opposite. She knew her father was still alive, still out there and still wanting revenge for having betrayed him and doing what she had. He'd been watching and waiting all this time…was it now that he was finally doing something about it? True, she hadn't sensed his presence while going around the estate and when in that building, but he could have easily gotten some 'subordinates' to do it for him, telling them what to do and where to go. After all, he knew the estate as well as she did, so he could point out the scrolls, the buildings and exactly what was needed. He could get what machines were needed as well, having whatever ninjas he'd hired to replace the old one, and he would know how to use it.

The thoughts kept circling round and round in her head, her emotions building up in a big ball inside of her. She managed to control them enough to never let them show on the outside, but internally she was tearing herself apart. Kukyo tried to be rational; to tell herself she had to think about this logically—for all she knew it wouldn't be Daraku at all! Only every time she thought about it was the only thing that she could think about—the only thing that made sense. True, there could be other people out there who might want to replicate the experiments, but why do so in the estate? It would be easier to take the information and do so elsewhere. The buildings were crumbling and derelict; the majority of them were only half there, and it was only a few minutes away from Konoha.

But it was significant to Daraku.

He'd want to do it here because it brought back memories for Kukyo—and in a sense, for Kakashi, too. It made her uncomfortable, even if she had gotten stronger in herself over the years. The atmosphere, the buildings, the equipment…the very idea of what could be going on gave her chills. It gave him an advantage that he wouldn't have if he did it anywhere else but here, and Daraku wanted that. Glancing around at the estate and she had flashbacks of what it had been like when everything had still been built up and populated with people, her heart beating fast and her breathing rate increasing at the idea he might try and make things like that again. She wouldn't let him, she knew that, but still…there were other things he'd done as well.

Kukyo attempted to remain calm, focusing on the mission and helping out Kakashi as he suggested things to try and stop what was happening and what these ninjas were trying to do. If she did that she could keep her mind focused and off her worries, and things wouldn't be so bad. But it didn't help. Any time Kakashi left her and she was alone, the images of how things had been in the estate appeared in her head over and over and almost overwhelmed her. It was only Kakashi that knocked her out of it every time, but it was hard to hide it, and she often wondered whether he had any suspicions.

And then there was the worst part—the nightmares. She got them anyway, but with Kakashi being there and things not being so bad they had faded until she could deal with them easily enough. But now they were a raging storm in her head that woke her every night barely able to breathe. She wanted to wake Kakashi up and talk to him like she had done before, but she couldn't—not this time. The idea of him finding out wasn't one she wanted, but with her memories joining in it only left her sitting there, her knees curled up to her chest, barely managing to suppress a panic attack. She didn't want him to find out, but she needed help.

And so she did what she'd always done: she walked away.

She needed to be in darkness, in silence—to just breathe away her fear and allow her heart rate to return to normal. As she continued, feeling it slowly do so as she enjoyed the forest around her, Kukyo frowned, for once able to brush aside her worries for a moment. She didn't want to be like this. To be isolated and trapped in her own mind. For her to have gotten into this self deprecating cycle where nothing was solved and she only felt worse in the long term. Because that _was_ all that was happening. Her thoughts merely circled round and round and never got anywhere.

She never told anyone—even though she wanted to—and so it all got worse. Her nightmares, her fear…and there didn't seem to be anyway out. But she had to do something. Kukyo paused, slowing to a halt, as she considered the idea of just telling Kakashi the truth. He was her friend. She trusted him more than anyone. Maybe if she told him everything, confessed it all and explained her story…got it all out…then it wouldn't be so bad. He could help her. But there was still that worry that surfaced, an image in her mind of Kakashi turning away from her in disgust after telling him the truth, and Kukyo didn't have a clue what to do.

But as someone appeared out of the darkness, she no longer had a choice.


	9. Chapter 9

At first Kukyo shrugged it off; Kakashi had come to her before after she had had a nightmare, so why couldn't he be doing the same now? But as she saw his face come into view, she froze, unable to move, memories and images appearing in her head at the sight of him. Every muscle in her body was completely tense and on edge, ready to run as her fight or flight response flared up inside her—but she couldn't do a thing. Her head was screaming at her to run, to get out of there and never look back, as with him only bad things could come…but her body wouldn't listen. She wanted Kakashi to be there, knowing he would be able to help her—only she was alone with no one to turn to and no one who would be coming to rescue her.

He had her right where he wanted her.

He knew it, too, walking forward completely casually, as if he had nothing to worry about. As if there was no danger of being attacked by Konoha ninja if they knew he was around. There was a sympathetic look on his face, looking as if he understood how hard it must be for Kukyo to be back here after everything that had happened—but she could see the look in his eyes; and that changed everything. It meant she knew none of it was genuine, and that he was after something completely different than to apologise and help her move on with her life. Though strangely enough, she could tell it wasn't to attack and kill her, either. She knew she wouldn't want to find out, yet she still couldn't force herself to move, meaning she remained as he finally began softly,

"Kukyo. My daughter. It's been so long—I've missed you, you know. You might stand there and think otherwise, but I have."

But in actual fact, Kukyo could believe it—but not for normal reasons. Daraku hadn't missed her because he cared about her and had wanted to see her again; wanted to talk to her and catch up, having missed spending time with her and seeing her face. He had missed having her working for him. Using her abilities for his gain and so his goals would be furthered. When Kukyo had been fully working for him, without Kakashi doing his mission in the estate, Daraku had been content. Things had been going smoothly and he was working towards his ambitions. When everything blew up in his face, however—literally—and he had had to leave, he couldn't do anything. If Kukyo had been with him, he might have been able to do more. _That _was why he missed her, and nothing more.

This idea angered Kukyo in the depths of her mind, and yet she continued to remain motionless. Everything else overwhelmed her anger—after all, it was the way her father had taught her to be as a ninja. Her emotions were to be pushed aside in order for her to do her missions well, and after a while, it became better for her in general. If she allowed her emotions to be on the surface, then she felt worse with what she was doing—watching the experiments go on. So she allowed them all to fade away with time; still there, but not as strong as they used to be. Anger was never an emotion she considered useful, anyway—it wouldn't help or get her anywhere, and so it was easy for her fear to overcome it now.

She tried to focus on other things. She had spent the last fourteen years seeing the world; doing all the things she had wanted to do when she was younger but had never had the chance. Meeting new people and see new places—getting a new perspective on the world. Then coming back to Konoha and seeing it again, and even upon coming here for the last few days, as she had been with Kakashi and just spending time with him, it hadn't been so bad. She had gotten closer to him, felt stronger and more sure of herself, and the influence of the estate hadn't been so intrusive. She had begun to feel as if she could really join Konoha and become a ninja there. But even with all these things, Kukyo couldn't shake her memories, and they invaded everything. They haunted her.

They always would.

Here she had thought things had been going better. But standing here in front of her father and it felt like nothing had changed. Had she gotten stronger in the slightest? Not to mention, so much of this situation angered Kukyo. She had been trained since she was very young as a ninja to be able to function in any circumstances, regardless of her emotions. This only seemed to change when dealing with her father, as her brain was unable to control her body in the slightest.

Fear might have had something to do with it, and that was another thing that irritated her. Not much scared Kukyo, but she was facing one of the things she did fear: not necessarily her father himself, but the circumstances he brought with him—and how things might turn out. Truth be told, as much as she felt she would be able to deal with the situation better if Kakashi was here, she didn't want him to turn up. Things would only end up coming to the surface, and she didn't want him here to hear them. But she didn't want to hear them herself.

It meant she had no idea how to respond to Daraku, and it meant he was unhindered as he went on,

"Things went wrong, somehow, back then. But we'd always lived together—and I'll always be your father, Kukyo. There's nothing you can do to change that. No matter how far you go or what you do, what happened in the past is still true. Stay here; let's work together again, just like before. Then everything will be as it should be."

It was all getting worse as time went by. Seeing that things had been moved around in the estate and ultimately starting up again, and then finding out it _was_ her father behind it—that he was here. Kukyo hadn't been looking forward to whatever message he'd been going to pass on, but wanting to have her join him again? The fear of being in that position all over again terrified her to the point of only being able to stare at Daraku with no idea what to do, all thoughts gone from her mind. She didn't know if she could cope with going back to that life; it had been hard enough for her living like that back then, let alone now.

But before either of them had a chance to speak, another shadow appeared from the darkness, calling out as they did so,

"No. Kukyo's not going to go back to working with you. She's going to join Konoha—to be a ninja there."

Both Daraku and Kukyo instantly turned to look as Kakashi now appeared from the darkness, evidently having woken up and seen Kukyo gone, following her trail to find this exchange occurring. Kukyo's voice still didn't return, even with Kakashi's arrival, however; as she had thought before, she didn't want him to be there. Already her heartbeat was increasing at what might happen—when abruptly Daraku spoke up, a frown of confusion and a look of mirth on his face as he chuckled slightly and then questioned with a smirk,

"You're defending her? You want Kukyo to live in the village—to become a _Konoha_ ninja? After all she did to your village—the ninjas she killed? The civilians she kidnapped? Why would you want her to join you?"

Kakashi didn't hesitate in the slightest at his comments, responding swiftly,

"Forget it—as if I'd believe that," but something stopped him from continuing any further.

As he looked over at Kukyo to confirm it, she was staring at the ground, her head bowed and her expression almost…ashamed. No matter that he stepped forward and leaned towards her—she wouldn't meet his gaze. It was true—then abruptly something occurred to him from when he had first been given the mission. He had been told he had to do reconnaissance, to take the place down…and to kill the assassin in the estate. But he never found out who it was. And it explained a lot—she was the most powerful ninja there, how she was always on her own, her different outfit, how easily she avoided notice, the jobs she was asked to do…it all fit. He didn't want to believe it, but…

"You? You were the assassin the whole time?"


	10. Chapter 10

Daraku took his chance the moment Kakashi began to speak; there was no point sticking around any longer. He'd said all he needed, and therefore his goal was complete—staying would make things worse, if anything. Kakashi had heard the truth—something Kukyo had tried to keep secret all this time—and Daraku just had to let everything unwind, and as such he stepped backwards into the darkness once more, disappearing from sight and heading off as quick as possible. Although he doubted either of them would follow him, it was best to leave swiftly anyway in the off chance Kakashi wanted answers—and he didn't want to risk anything now it was everything was starting to fall into place.

But both of them had forgotten about Daraku for the moment—at least in the sense of him being in the nearby area. His removal from the clearing had an effect on the atmosphere; it was like fog vanishing to reveal the scenery before you, clearing away the dust that had been obscuring what was beneath. Things weren't as suffocating as they had been before, with no one sure what was going to happen next, but he had left something in its place that was just as bad. Kukyo wasn't so frozen as she had been when he'd appeared, at last feeling as if she was able to move a little bit, even if she wasn't sure she was capable of doing much right now, with talking being in the same sort of category.

She hadn't wanted this to happen. Right from the beginning she had tried to hide it, and even if everyone found out she was Daraku's daughter, she could deal with that…but not this. She hated admitting it to herself, let alone hearing it out loud as an accusation pointing towards her. There might have been a time when she thought she could have confessed to Kakashi—they were getting close, and she trusted him. But there was always doubt in her mind, and then it became too late. The time had passed, and she couldn't tell anyone anymore. If she admitted it now, it would only seem suspicious that she hadn't done it earlier. Only Kukyo was starting to think any confession would have seemed less suspicious that her father telling Kakashi.

He knew now, and Kukyo wanted to say something to help make things better—so he wouldn't think she was as bad a person as he thought she was. But was there any point? Was there any hope now? It _was_ the truth; there was no denying it, and there was nothing she could do to change it, even though she wished she could. As much as she wanted time to turn back—for things to be different—it wasn't going to happen. Everything was ruined now, and the one person she trusted more than anybody now thought she was just as bad as her father was. Her heart sank at this thought, and did so even further as her training kicked in, having been taught to get rid of all emotions—the way her sadness automatically did now, meaning no tears appeared on her face, even if in another situation they might have done, so she stood in silence until he managed to find the words, bursting out in disbelief,

"But—you helped me destroy the estate! Why would you help me if you were doing that?" Clenching her eyes shut as she remembered it all, she responded softly, Kakashi surprised at the gentleness of her reply,

"Because I hated how things were. I didn't care of the danger it might bring—or what could happen. I just needed things to end."

Kakashi's mind was reeling with all the information that was going through his head. When he'd woken up for a moment and turned over to see that Kukyo was gone, figuring she'd had another nightmare and decided on a walk—opting to find her like he'd done last time…he hadn't expected this was how things would turn out. He was barely able to get a grip on his thoughts they were so tumultuous, almost making him feel as if things were spinning. He'd known Kukyo was unusual, but he'd thought that was because she was Daraku's daughter—she got some side benefits. He'd never imagined…

And now look how things were. He felt…Kakashi wasn't sure _how_ he felt. No—he knew exactly how he felt. Betrayed. She'd been the assassin all along. He had accepted Kukyo being Daraku's daughter because he could see when she said she wanted to help him complete his mission that she was genuine—she didn't want to work for her father anymore. But being his assassin…? She had killed numerous Konoha ninja. Kidnapped the people being experimented on. How did he know she didn't just want out because she was going off somewhere else to be hired as an assassin? She hadn't agreed to be a Konoha ninja, after all, and he didn't _really_ know what she'd done all that time she'd been away. Who was Kukyo, really?

Staring at her standing there across the clearing, Kakashi thought over how much time they'd spent together and was certain, at least, that he wasn't sure of the answer to that question anymore, prompting him to say softly,

"I thought I knew you," but hearing his words, Kukyo knew for sure she had lost him—the bond had broken, and turning away from him, she replied in almost a whisper,

"No. There are too many parts to me for anyone to truly know who I am. 000…and nothing at every turn."

And then she was gone.

Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi ran her words over in his head once again. But none of it made any sense. What had she been talking about? The numbers…that last part. It almost sounded like some kind of proverb. But he shook it off. Regardless of what she had meant—there was still the question of what to do now. After all, Daraku was in the area, and now he knew what Kukyo was, a thought that caused a flicker of anger to run through Kakashi, only to disappear and turn into a sigh a moment later. But he had to do something, and turning towards the camp, he began to think things over, though nothing seemed to come to mind. He tried to get some sleep, but it only came in bits and pieces with all that had happened—but eventually he decided what he should do as he ate what he could the next morning.

Summoning Pakkun, he sent a message to Konoha saying Daraku had been seen in the estate last night. He didn't mention the revelation about Kukyo in the message, not knowing how to put it and knowing it would take too long, deciding to tell it to whoever came. Not that it was going to be easy; when he heard people approaching he immediately turned his back on them, trying to come up with the words to explain the situation and what exactly had happened so far. It was still a shock to him, having plagued him all night, going from one emotion to the other. How would things be now?

Hearing Naruto and Sakura's voices and he felt a little better—but when he heard the third he instantly span around, surprised to see Tsunade standing there. Questioning as to that fact, she pointed out the estate wasn't far away from the village and hearing Daraku had been seen, she wanted to hear herself, so having come up with a slight bending of the truth, he began,

"I know I didn't send the message until now, Tsunade-sama, but I've been searching to try and find him. But he knows this place better than I do—he got away."

"What about Kukyo? Is she still searching?"

It was at this, however, that Kakashi looked down and shook his head, glaring at the floor, prompting Tsunade to ask what was wrong—what had happened. Pulling himself together, Kakashi made himself look up as he finally responded,

"The mission I was sent on in the ANBU was for reconnaissance, destroying the estate and killing the assassin here. I did the mission—but I never killed the assassin," those words causing everyone to worry at the idea Kukyo had been attacked by the assassin, only to freeze as Kakashi added,

"No. _Kukyo_ was the assassin all along."

For a moment there was silence, everyone shocked at this news, until Naruto's shout broke through.

"She was just playing us!"

"She may not have wanted to work for Daraku, but she has her own agenda—she's had several chances to join us and she never did. But it's clear what we have to do; Daraku and Kukyo have to be killed for what they have done and what they could do. Do you understand, Kakashi?"

But Naruto's shout had triggered something inside of Kakashi. He already felt betrayed after hearing the truth—but the shock of everything had kept it all back. But somehow that was beginning to fade…and all that was left was anger. She had never told him anything, and she hadn't even _tried_ to defend herself or explain a thing to him. She just left! Why should he feel unsure about any of this when Kukyo clearly hadn't done? It was the reason why the glare appeared on his face and he turned to look at Tsunade with no hesitation in his eyes, stating simply,

"I understand, Tsunade-sama."


	11. Chapter 11

They had all decided there was no point immediately rushing off to find them.

Tsunade instead instructed them to spend their time searching around; trying to pick up either Daraku's or Kukyo's trail and then seeing which direction it led in. But they weren't to be rushing forward and chasing after either of them. Kakashi would most likely want to go after Kukyo first, but it was easier for her to get away—no doubt Daraku hadn't come to the area alone. Not to mention her position was unpredictable; no one, not even Kakashi, knew where she would be heading now, even if Daraku had approached her to ask her to join him again.

As for Daraku, wherever he had gone, he would have other ninja with him, and without backup and no idea what things would be like when they arrived, it was a risk to merely charge in and confront him. Therefore Tsunade gave them the orders of looking around and trying to figure out what they could. Where Kukyo might be and what she might do now, where Daraku's hideout could be placed and what his overall goal was—there was certainly more to this than just starting up his old experiments. Though it was hard for all of them, especially Kakashi and Naruto, to accept the idea of just sitting back for the moment until they knew more, they agreed.

With that, Tsunade turned and headed back to the village, leaving Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura alone. He took them to the camp, having tossed all of Kukyo's stuff to the side, and after a quick chat of what they could and should do, he took them back to the place where he had met Daraku. He didn't like being there, and narrowed his eyes the moment he stepped into the clearing—but he had to do this. To find Kukyo and finish it all. And so he pointed out the footprints while he told Naruto and Sakura what had happened—but when he looked where Kukyo had run off…there was nothing.

She was living up to her assassin name.

That fact alone made Kakashi angrier, and so he pushed forward, trying to find any hint of a trail. Any slight mistake she might have made in her emotional state; a broken branch, a part of a footprint or a mark against a tree where she had brushed past it. But there was nothing, just like usual. Even with her acting like she was, there was no sign of her anywhere in the forest. How was he ever going to find her? To ask her the questions that needed to be answered? To actually find out the truth, instead of her simply running away instead of trying to defend herself in the slightest?

But Kakashi shook that idea off. What was he thinking? He was going along this entire time not determined to find her and fight her; to take her down after all she'd done and hid from him, but to learn the truth. He was focusing on the idea of hunting her down in order to talk everything over, his anger more frustration at the way everything had turned out more than anything. But why? Why should it be? She didn't deserve to be given the chance to explain her situation. She shouldn't have been given that chance the moment he found out she was Daraku's daughter. He should have attacked her then. There was so much he should have noticed—that he ignored.

And yet he couldn't push away the other emotions.

Kakashi's anger was certainly there when they changed to search Daraku's trail, and Naruto and Sakura noticed it. Regardless of how things would end—of whether he would end up fighting Kukyo and choose to kill her because he considered everything she had done too much of a betrayal—or he would find he couldn't, that when coming face to face with her the memories of all they'd done would stop him and that he needed an explanation, Kakashi didn't know. But Daraku had certainly played a massive part in all of this, and Kakashi wanted him to pay for it in full.

He had been the one to train Kukyo to be the assassin she had become. He had ordered her to do what she had—if things had been different, maybe Kukyo wouldn't be running now. Maybe Kukyo would have been able to stay back then and have become a Konoha ninja. Daraku had treated her badly enough that even with her skills she had wanted to break free—and she had wanted to face him doing so. He had been the start of all of this, and if it hadn't been for him then it wouldn't be this way now. Kakashi wanted Daraku dead and he was even angrier with the memory of having let him get away all those years ago.

Unlike Kukyo, there were footprints, broken branches, marks against trees. But it was obvious they were all diversions to lead them astray. None of them were the real tracks that would allow them to follow Daraku—he was teasing him, just like he had been when he had shown up to talk to Kukyo. He had known he had the advantage and everything he was saying was manipulating them the way he wanted. Nothing he had done had been unplanned, and he didn't want anyone to follow him; but the numerous tracks were just for show. He wouldn't have left anything behind.

When it got to lunch Kakashi forced himself to eat, knowing he needed to, to keep his strength up, but the food tasted like ash in his mouth and he barely noticed the taste, simply chewing and swallowing in a robotic way. All that mattered was the sustenance and nothing more, before he could get back to looking around and seeing what he could find that would help him. Naruto and Sakura chatted amongst themselves, but they left Kakashi alone, clearly seeing he wasn't in the mood for talking. They just didn't know what to say to make things better—to comfort him.

It left him in his thoughts as he got back up and headed off into the trees on his own, not saying anything to Naruto or Sakura as he did so. When Kakashi had been speaking to Tsunade when she had arrived he had felt so certain about things. When Naruto had spoken up and he had been given that order to go after Kukyo and Daraku it hadn't seemed like things would be this complicated. His anger had been so close to the surface that confronting Kukyo and battling her—maybe even killing her—hadn't seemed like such a big deal. All he'd been able to think about was how much she'd kept from him and how betrayed he felt. It had only appeared worse when the others had spoken up about it as well, so he told himself that was how things would end.

Only now…now he couldn't be sure. Like waves on the shore, his emotions went back and forth, from anger to sadness. From confusion to frustration. No matter what he felt he wanted to know the truth. But the question of whether he would get one—and if Kukyo wouldn't bother speaking to him, if he should even bother trying to persist—was something that remained in Kakashi's mind the entire day. As his anger had flared up, there had been no question as to what he should do. But now he wasn't certain as to what was going to happen, and he didn't know what he should so.

Yes; he wanted Daraku dead, he knew that, and that fact wasn't about to disappear. But Kukyo's fate was what was concerning him, and when the sun finally set and he lay down, trying aimlessly to get some sleep, it still did. There were so many unanswered questions, after all, and although finding out that she had been the assassin in the estate had explained a lot, there were still things that Kakashi didn't understand. Even though they had become closer after Kukyo had come back from her time travelling for those fourteen years, she had kept a lot from him—and it wasn't just being an assassin. Kakashi couldn't help but feel there was more to it than that.

But why did she feel she couldn't at least tell him that? Didn't she trust him at least a little bit? Kakashi clenched his fists as he stared up at the stars, his frustration coming back to him. If she didn't trust him, why should he trust her? He had done. Though as he thought this, her last words before she had vanished came back to Kakashi, and a wave of confusion washed over him. What had she meant? That had nothing to do with her being an assassin.

A moment later and he was up and disappearing into the trees.

Maybe if he looked around he might find out.


	12. Chapter 12

Kakashi wandered through the trees, barely paying attention to where he was going.

As much as it was easier to be angry with Kukyo, there was something stopping him from being truly that way. In the same way when Daraku had revealed she had been the assassin all along and he had stood there thinking every little detail of the mission back then over and over to figure out if she really was who he said she was, Kakashi was doing the same now to figure out if she really had betrayed him. If everything she had told him during the mission had been a lie and he hadn't really known her at all.

Even with his aggression he didn't want it to be true—maybe it was even _because_ of his wish for it to be a lie his that anger flared up. As such he was now wandering through the estate, having finally reached the inner buildings, ambling around them and searching at the same time he searched his thoughts for anything that could help him find an answer for what he was looking for. It just wasn't right after all. Sure, Kukyo hadn't defended herself when Daraku had said all that stuff, trying to convince him that things were different and there was a reason for it all, but the estate—Daraku himself—affected her. She hadn't been able to face him during the mission to begin with, and knowing he was in the estate…was it such a strange idea to think she'd run away, especially with everything that was going on?

And what about their first mission to begin with? True, Kukyo could have been using him to break free of Daraku and break out on her own; that the mission hadn't been her first priority and she'd never been planning on joining Konoha afterwards, but she went further than she needed to if that was the case. She protected Kakashi when she didn't have to, guiding him through the estate and showing him more than was needed, talked with him and befriended him—all things that weren't necessary in the situation for her goals. Why bother doing all that if she didn't have to? Overall it meant Kakashi couldn't help but think something about this whole thing wasn't right here.

Though he'd agreed with Tsunade's orders to go after Daraku and Kukyo, Kakashi was starting to doubt himself. Having started thinking things through, knowing there was something wrong, feeling it no matter how hard he tried to shake it off and knowing that he didn't know the full details, Kakashi had to find out the truth before he faced Kukyo or he knew he wouldn't be able to fight her. Even if he managed to force himself to or one of the others ended up doing it for him, he got the feeling the guilt would follow him for the rest of his life with the niggling suspicion in the back of his mind that there was more to it than what he'd originally thought.

How this was going to end, he didn't know. It's not like he had particularly long, after all. They were going to begin to start searching and properly tracking the two in the morning, and Kakashi couldn't say he'd stay behind to have a look around the estate when there was no reason for him to be doing so. Naruto and Sakura knew his connection with Kukyo anyway—they'd know he was hesitating. So if he hadn't found anything by then, he'd have no choice but to follow the others and, if they found Kukyo, he'd have to fight her. He'd left silently and Naruto and Sakura hadn't woken up, and he got the feeling they'd stay that way, so Kakashi wasn't overly worried he'd be interrupted in his search, but he didn't really know where he was looking, or what he was looking for.

So things didn't exactly look good for him.

But Kakashi still kept going, gathering the buildings in the centre of the estate might have more of a chance of holding an answer. He went through each, his memories coming back as he did so. What each building acted as he still didn't know, but it had been Kukyo who had allowed him to see inside them, leaving the doors open; getting him past the security and making sure no one was around so he could take a look inside. Seeing what was left of the experiments, Kakashi narrowed his eyes; even knowing Kukyo was the assassin, he had spent enough time around her to understand a little of what she was like.

When she spoke of the experiments, it was never in a good way, and not because she wasn't interested or she thought it was pathetic, not wanting anything to do with her father. It was because she didn't agree with it—because she didn't want to see those people get hurt or killed through what her father was doing to them. And Kakashi knew it hadn't been a lie; it had all been genuine emotion when she had told him she wanted to stop Daraku from doing all the experiments. Therefore it painted a different picture to the one than it seemed on the surface: the assassin for Daraku who merely took his orders and completed them without any guilt or remorse; who killed anyone she was asked to and who cut down anyone in her way.

Kakashi had seen the look on her face just before she had run…It wasn't the expression one would expect. The way she had acted that entire time hadn't been anything like she _should_ have been acting, and then there was the last thing she had said to him to think about. He still had no idea what any of that had meant—and the way she had said it—it had been melancholy in itself. It wasn't just the words Kakashi had to consider; it was the tone of Kukyo's voice, as well. Everything fit together somehow, and it all made sense in some way, if Kakashi could just find a clue that would allow him to figure it all out.

His mood was hopefully determined as he reached the next building, not knowing if it would give him any answers and a part of him beginning to think there wouldn't be anything to find. But it didn't mean he stopped walking. He continued forward, that small bit of hope inside of him driving him onwards with the possibility that he could discover the truth, and so, circling round the building until he found the door, he went towards it, ready to go in.

Slamming a kick into the door allowed Kakashi entry, as the explosion had affected the building badly, though not as bad as some. Several walls were collapsed, furniture and rubble strewn across the floor, though as Kakashi stepped forward cautiously, looking upwards at the night sky where the roof had begun to collapse, he could see the building wasn't too unstable. Unless he started charging into walls and setting off explosive tags, he was safe, and so he turned his attention towards the building to see if there was anything that could answer his questions—or at least some clues to guide him in the right direction.

But it was as he did this that Kakashi noticed something. Unlike the other buildings he'd been looking in, this building wasn't set up like a laboratory. There weren't the machines, tools or instruments that were visible elsewhere, or even the supplies like in the warehouses. It wasn't even like the place where they had kept the people they were experimenting on; that had been like a prison, and the building where the ninja slept was on the outskirts.

This was more like a house. The usual furniture—chairs, tables, a bookcase…As Kakashi glanced around the doorway into the next room he saw it was a kitchen. In a place like this estate, it seemed completely out of place, and wondering what Daraku used it for, Kakashi instantly realised that it was _for_ Daraku. He would need a place to stay, and most likely wanted better conditions than the ninja. But if that was the case…then it definitely had to have information on Kukyo. This place definitely had to have answers, and glancing around the room, his eyes alighted on the bookcase and the files.

Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi instantly went over, grabbing a hold of it from where it had fallen over against the wall and beginning to pull it up again. The only thing that stopped him was when he noticed it getting caught on something on the floor, and frowning at that as he finally pulled it up and out of the way, he went over to see there was a hole in the floor—revealing a darkness beneath. Immediately recognizing it as a trap door, Kakashi gripped the edges of it and pulled them up, widening his eyes in surprise at what he found:

A staircase leading downward into the darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

He had no idea what it meant.

Why would Daraku have this in his house? It certainly didn't look like a normal basement where the usual things would be kept—if it hadn't been for that hole where the force of the book case had broken through, Kakashi would never have noticed it. That meant that it had been hidden well in the house, but why was that? There had to be a good enough reason for Daraku to feel the need to do so. So what was its purpose? Why was it there? For that matter, _had_ Daraku even known about its existence? But shaking his head, Kakashi didn't doubt it. This was his estate, and he'd lived here all his life, and his family for generations. There was no way he didn't know. But what about the rest of the ninjas in the estate? Had they known?

Had Kukyo?

But either way—was it important? Was this room merely a store room for scrolls of his plans, blueprints for machines…designs for the experiments he was going to do next. Things he didn't want the world to see, and if anyone came looking, he would be able to hide from them no matter what. Or was it something more? Some extra thing he had been developing alongside the experiments that he couldn't allow into the limelight for the moment—too horrible even for the ninjas that worked for him. He wouldn't put it past Daraku to do something like that with all he'd seen from him. It could be anything down there; he didn't know how big the space was and there was no telling from here what it might be.

Not that it mattered. As Kakashi stared down into the darkness he knew he didn't care regardless. He was going to find out one way or another. Stepping forward and finally beginning to descend the staircase, Kakashi searched the shadows for any signs of light—if Daraku had come down here, he had to have used something to guide his way. He kept his hand on the wall to make sure he wouldn't trip, the light fading even further the more he continued, but it was as he did so he felt his hand come into contact with something along the way.

Turning to look at it, he took a few steps backwards to allow himself to see better, and saw that it was a torch, and smirking in triumph at that, at least, he used his chakra to light it, blinking at the change in intensity. But after his eyes got used to it, he turned back to the path ahead, taking a deep breath as his mind began to throw suggestions of what might be down here. For all he knew, this wouldn't help him at all in answering his questions about Kukyo. Then again, at the same time, it could hold the key to answering everything, and so he pushed on.

The silence was overwhelming, and even though normally, nothing like this affected him in the slightest, suddenly Kakashi was very much aware of all the earth on top of him, pressing down from above—feeling a little trapped with it all. But he shook it off, knowing there was more to think about than what he was feeling. Whatever his imagination might be coming up with, something was important about this place, and he needed to figure it out, and so he continued down the steps until he finally reached the bottom, slowing to a halt as he did so.

There was a doorway, though the pressure from the explosion above had obviously blown the door down. Inside was a room—but it wasn't the storage room Kakashi had been considering. It wasn't the experimentation room he'd thought of either, however. Having known all of what Daraku had done while living in the estate, and having talked to him knowing what he wanted to do—everything that was running through his mind and what his plans were…Kakashi had been thinking of all these possibilities when it came down to this hidden underground room.

But he hadn't thought of this.

It wasn't anything horrible and morbid; filled with corpses or like the labs the other buildings had. If anything, compared to what he'd seen in the labs with all the people lying on the tables hooked up to machines having been injected with this and that and looking so much in pain or so hollow there was no longer anything inside them to feel the pain…it was pretty nondescript.

Yet still there was something not right about it. It was eerie…ominous, somehow. Whatever had gone on in here had not been good—and maybe if Kakashi looked around, he could find out what. So fully stepping inside, he lifted up the torch to get a better idea of the whole span of the place down here, only to realise that this was it. He'd thought that it was because of the darkness that he couldn't see further into the room—but there was merely nowhere else to go. The room was tiny, and that was a blessing, he guessed. He wouldn't have a big area to search. But still…something about that felt strange.

And it only grew as Kakashi walked around and began to search. There was a bed in the right corner, tipped over from the destruction above. The trunk in front of it seemed to have dealt with it better, having a few dents but apparently unharmed overall. A small desk was directly in front of the door, with one of the legs broken and so was now lying on the floor, the papers that had been on top of it scattered across the floor. Something had been broken in the left corner, though Kakashi couldn't tell what it was, and there were several things as well as the papers that were scattered over the room—belongings, possibly, to whoever stayed in here.

He checked them over as he walked around, finding them to be kunai and books, and as he opened the trunk in front of the bed, he found clothes inside. So whoever had been staying in here had been a ninja—or Daraku had possibly been training them to be one, and this was where they stayed in the meantime—it was clear this was a bedroom. Though Kakashi couldn't imagine staying down here as if it was your room. No windows? No natural light? What must it have been like in terms of oxygen? Surely it must have been hard to stay here for long because of that.

But why were they here to begin with? Was Daraku trying to hide them? Maybe he had been experimenting on them, and that's why he didn't want anyone to see. Pondering this question, Kakashi went over to the papers on the floor and picked them up, moving the torch closer in order to see what was on them, hoping they might give him a clue. Reading them over, he saw they were numerous things: to do with Daraku's plans, to do with experiments, to do with ninja training…but it was familiar, somehow. But how? It wasn't what was written, that was for sure.

Then suddenly it hit him, and Kakashi froze.

Yes, it wasn't what was written on the papers that he recognised; it was how it was written. During the mission to take down Daraku, when Kakashi had been working with Kukyo, she had often written down information—he knew her handwriting. And this was it. But that would mean this was her room—no, her cell. The bed was as basic as could be, as was everything else, with the smallest amount of space allowed. If this was Daraku's house, it would make sense Kukyo would stay with him—but no one said _where_ she had to stay.

Something occurring to him, Kakashi turned and began to search for the door, finally spotting it behind him where it had fallen on the floor. It was metal, with a small gap near the top that had bars across it—the kind of door that you'd find in a prison. But now it was all coming together. If Kukyo was kept in a cell she wasn't just another ninja. She wasn't just the assassin that Daraku kept to do his work for him. She was just like the other people who had gotten kidnapped—an experiment.

And that's when Kakashi noticed what was on the door. Just below the gap in the door, there was nameplate with something etched into the surface, and as Kakashi came closer to look, he froze at what he saw. Like the other experiments had been, Kukyo had been numbered, and it meant there were three zeros carved into the plate on the outside of the door. The last words Kakashi had heard from Kukyo before she had disappeared ran through his mind as he stared at them, and the only thing he could do was whisper,

"Nothing at every turn…"

Because now it all made sense.


	14. Chapter 14

But that meant he had to do something—and fast.

Tsunade had given the orders that if they came across Daraku _or_ Kukyo then they were to attack and kill them if they could, but now Kakashi knew what he did, he couldn't let that happen. Yes, she had been the assassin, but that was no longer relevant with the circumstances taken into account—he had reason enough for them not to kill her. The only problem was he'd been wandering around all night and he was in the middle of the estate at this point. If he didn't get back to the camp and tell Naruto and Sakura the situation, they'd head off without him, simply going ahead with the plan.

They wouldn't bother to try and find him before they began to search for Daraku and Kukyo once more, as they probably thought he'd started early to try and find them. With the way he'd been acting yesterday, it wasn't such a strange idea—he'd been so set on finding her, and he hadn't shown any signs of hesitation with Tsunade's orders. But that had changed now, and catching up with them would be a lot harder if they were moving, and the risk of them hurting Kukyo would only increase if wasn't there, so Kakashi had to get back while they were still at the camp.

So he would need to set off right away.

But why had she never said anything? All this time and she had been going through just as much as the rest of them—maybe more, as from the looks of things she had been the first—and yet she never mentioned any of it to him when the mission had been taking place all those years ago. _That _was why she wanted to get out of there; she had been telling the truth all along before. She hated what she had to do, having to hurt people like that, and having been through the experiments herself, she didn't want to have to watch other people go through it as well. She had survived what he had done to her, clearly, however.

The physical hadn't been enough, though. Daraku had affected her emotionally while he'd experimented on her—and being her father probably had some hold as well. That was what had stopped her from fighting back and simply leaving; making a life for herself somewhere else and not having to be his assassin anymore. It had been when his mission had started and she had realised he was there that things had changed. She had been planning on letting Kakashi do all the work—letting him kill Daraku. But then he had accidentally seen her and confronted her and so they'd become friends. That wasn't something she must have ever had before.

That was what had given her the strength to feel she could break free.

Yet as Kakashi thought about it now he knew there were things that Kukyo had kept under the surface. That she had been too afraid to tell him, but shaking his head and sighing, Kakashi knew it wouldn't have mattered. They had become very close friends during that mission, and he hadn't wanted her to leave after it had finished, let alone for fourteen years. Was that why she'd done it in the first place? Why she hadn't felt she could join Konoha? Because of everything that had happened in the estate? Because of everything she hadn't told him? It was a lot of information, he knew, but he didn't care—if anything he was relieved. He'd been looking for something that would explain it all and answer all his questions…and he'd certainly found it.

Then it came back to him just what he was doing still standing down here in this cell and just what he needed to be doing right now. So shaking off his thoughts for later, having places to be and not exactly wanting to spend any more time down here than he had to after finding out just what it was and the aura it gave off anyway, he finally headed back up the stairs and out of the building, vanishing into the trees a moment later back in the direction of the camp.

Glancing up at the sky, Kakashi saw the sun was almost fully risen, and frowning in irritation, he sped up, hoping Naruto was taking a while to get up and eat breakfast, suddenly annoyed that no one on his team was usually late like he was. He could consider the idea that he was getting a little enthusiastic about this, but he wasn't about to let up on it. This mission had been going on for fourteen years without completion, and not only that, Kukyo had been dealing with Daraku experimenting on her a lot longer than that without anything happening about it. Kukyo had done so much to help him back then and recently, and he didn't want it to go to waste.

Everything that had suddenly dissipated with the news that Kukyo was the assassin was possible again. The very idea that she was gone from his life was reversed with this knowledge and Kakashi was going to cling to it no matter what. The fact he had agreed with Tsunade's orders had been out of anger, but he hadn't wanted it to be that way—it was why he had gone looking for answers. But now he had found them, just like before, everything was possible again.

But that meant he had to do something about it.

Even with his lack of sleep Kakashi dismissed his tiredness, barely even noticing it with all that was rushing through his head and how fast he was moving. He had more important things to think about than how tired he was, the most noticeable being his arrival at the camp where Naruto and Sakura still were stationed at the current moment, as they got ready for the day. As Kakashi arrived in the clearing, they couldn't help but be a little surprised, having not expected to see him, already thinking he had gotten up and begun searching for Kukyo and Daraku for the day.

So to see him burst into the clearing looking more than a little dishevelled and perhaps a little exhausted, neither of them were quite sure what to say, but Kakashi answered it for them, responding bluntly,

"Naruto, Sakura—we don't need to kill Kukyo."

Blinking in surprise at his sudden comment, they glanced at each other and then back to Kakashi, trying to figure out just where he'd come out with that from. Eventually, Sakura replied tactfully,

"Kakashi-sensei, we know you're friends with her, but Tsunade-sama—"

"No, you don't get it—she was forced into everything. I went looking around last night and I found Daraku's house. But inside it was a cell. _Kukyo's _cell. She was experimented on too. The first one to be so. But she survived. She was a—a blueprint for the rest. She was treated as badly as anyone else in the estate. We shouldn't hurt her."

"She was…an experiment…?" Naruto breathed, unable to do anything but stare at Kakashi in disbelief upon hearing his words. When Kukyo had been a close friend of Kakashi's who was just travelling round the world he couldn't imagine that, let alone now she was the assassin who had killed loads of Konoha ninja and kidnapped people from the village. But seeing the look in his eyes Sakura frowned in confusion, stating quietly,

"You sound almost happy about this…"

"I'm not. I don't want her to have been experimented on. I just…it means it explains everything. It answers my questions and…I don't have to hurt her." Kakashi replied simply, trying to explain his happiness and sorrow.

"Ok—so we're not going after Kukyo? Then what now?" Naruto suddenly burst out, and turning to him with a smirk, Kakashi stated,

"Daraku's still here—and I don't know why, though it can't be good. He needs to be stopped. And I don't know where Kukyo is. I want to try and find her and bring her back. I get the feeling she's not in the best of moods right now. I don't want Daraku getting his hands on her."

And as Naruto and Sakura both grinned and began talking about where to start and what to do next, Kakashi knew now:

They'd better get started.


	15. Chapter 15

Having gotten the truth out to Naruto and Sakura, the both of them knowing what was really going on, they all turned to what needed to be done now.

Kakashi took a short nap while Naruto and Sakura finished their breakfast, and once he'd woken up from that he then had a short breakfast to catch up on all the energy he'd lost throughout the night. Then once he felt back to normal, they finally headed off again, this time together, and Kakashi started taking them back towards the building where Daraku had lived—where Kukyo's cell had been. He wasn't sure just quite how to explain what had happened last night and how long he had been wandering around, but tried to say the basics, leaving out what he felt that they didn't really need to know.

He didn't really feel he could fully explain why he had just gotten up and disappeared from the clearing and spent all night searching for answers as to why Kukyo had been doing all she had, so he skimmed over those details. He left out the tumultuous thoughts that had kept him going even when it had seemed like he wasn't going to find anything and that he would never find any explanation for everything that had happened with Kukyo and what he had found out. It seemed the easiest to simply state the simple facts: he wanted to know the truth so he had left to find out. He had searched for hours around the estate…and this was what he had come across.

Seeing the looks on their faces, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder just what they thought of his actions. His determination to prove what had apparently been found to be right—something he had seen himself—to be wrong. To be so torn up inside by finding out this information about Kukyo that he couldn't sleep, and that he had to search for answers because he knew that she wouldn't do something like that. That she wasn't the kind of person that this revelation had supposedly proved her to be. From the way he was acting, it was clear he cared a lot about her, and they wanted to help. To set things right.

With that in mind, they finally arrived at the building, and Kakashi led them through the door and through the rooms until they reached the door leading down to the cell. Pausing, Kakashi glanced at Naruto and Sakura and saw the shock and dismay in their eyes and faces. He'd told them the situation, yes, but he knew they hadn't quite expected what they were seeing in front of them now. The torch he had used when he had been exploring he had put out when he had left, so for the moment it was as dark as when he had first seen it, which only increased the effect it was having on them.

But not wanting the effect to last for long, needing their help to figure things out, Kakashi quickly stepped forward and picked up the torch once more, lighting it just like he had done the first time. With a quick glimpse over his shoulder and a gesture to make sure they were following him, he went quickly down the staircase, the flames of the torch easily lighting the way. Within a few moments and they had reached the actual cell, and it was only as he heard the footsteps behind him disappear that he realised that Naruto and Sakura and come to a halt, causing him to turn around and see what they were doing.

Just like before he could see the uneasy expressions on their faces, but they were enhanced this time. This time there was more than darkness—they could see just where Kukyo had been living. What she had had to go through. Though they had believed Kakashi when he had said all that, there was a lot they didn't know about the circumstances, and after having been told she was the assassin not long before, it was taking some time to accept. But now they were standing here seeing all of this, there was no doubt everything was true. So what Kukyo had been the assassin? It was clear she hadn't had a choice in this. It was clear she had been experimented on just as much as the others—maybe more.

And now Naruto and Sakura wanted to help her in the same way Kakashi did.

Slowly they followed him into the room, swallowing hard as they looked around the cell, not even noticing as they quietened their breaths and lightened their footsteps, almost anxious that something was about to happen.

"This place…it's creepy. This should never have been made. How did Kukyo even live down here?" Naruto whispered as he came in, disbelief etched across his face as Sakura replied just as softly,

"She didn't have a choice. But I think I would have gone insane—it gives me the chills, and I don't think they'd fade no matter how long I stayed here."

"She forced herself to focus on other things. When she got the chance to help other people, she did it whenever she could. And when I turned up, it meant there was an opportunity to get out of there and stop everything. Kukyo is a strong person…and it's affected her in a big way. It always will. I've seen the nightmares she gets. It haunts her—and what's happened now isn't helping. We need to find out what's going on and figure out how to fix it."

"But how, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto shot back, continuing on afterwards, "I mean, I know we have to go after Daraku and help Kukyo. I _get_ that. But what exactly do we need to do in order to finish everything and sort it out?"

This was where Kakashi knew he needed to go into detail, and so going around the room, he lit all the other torches and placed the first in another holder so there was more light before going and standing back over by the desk. Turning round to face Naruto and Sakura again, he ran his eyes over the papers scattered near him as he replied quietly,

"When we got assigned this mission we didn't know it was Daraku coming back to the estate. We had no idea what was going on here. But then he approached Kukyo alone. Kukyo hasn't been able to confront him on her own—she couldn't back then, and I can understand why after seeing this. He wanted the advantage over her, and I think he wanted to talk to her on her own. And even when I showed up, he immediately told me about her being the assassin. Something that was a big deal to both of us. But with everything I've found out, I know something's not right. And I need to find out what it is. Because it's to do with Kukyo."

Pausing for a moment after his explanation, he quickly added,

"Kukyo has a lot of information in here of things that went on in the estate. Things that no one else would have known but her and Daraku. If we read through it and put it together with the things we know now, then it might help us figure out what could be happening next."

Nodding in agreement, they all instantly began to get to work, picking up all the paper that had been knocked to the floor and sorting through it, figuring out what each was about and what went where before they finally started to read it. Some things had been for Daraku's benefit; writing down his plans and what he wanted done next in the estate. Others, however, had been for Kukyo's: making sure she knew where everything was and how many experiments he had—what he was doing and every circumstance so she could help to stop things and help people out.

Kakashi couldn't believe she had managed to do what she could to help all of those people even with her own situation, and suddenly felt even worse for the way he had spoken to her just before they'd parted ways. But he shook it off. He was going to find her now and get her back. He was going to stop Daraku—if he could just find where he was hiding:

A question that was answered a moment later. Daraku had other places to hide in case people got on his tail and he needed to leave the estate, and Kukyo had made note of them, along with the nearest one to the estate. He had to be there—but that meant Kukyo would know it too. Daraku would know it. She wouldn't just let Daraku get out alive—but she wouldn't go to Konoha now they knew she was the assassin, either. So what would she…

But then it came to Kakashi.

He understood everything.


	16. Chapter 16

"I've got it," he murmured absentmindedly.

Glancing over at the noise, they saw him staring not at the paper in his hands, but directly in front of him, his eyes blank as if he could see something they couldn't. Looking at each other before back to Kakashi, they placed their pieces of paper to the side and stepped towards him, calling out as they did so, wondering what he was mumbling about to himself. They just hadn't expected him to spin round and blurt hurriedly,

"I understand now! I know where Daraku is! Why he was here in the first place!"

And moving to stare down at his feet, his voice quietened to a whisper as he added gently,

"What she's going to do…"

Narrowing their eyes at his words, Naruto and Sakura were shocked at the idea at the idea Kakashi had managed to figure all that out by reading what was available in the room. Although they had imagined they would be able to obtain some information here, they hadn't thought they would be able to figure out why Daraku had turned up to the estate once again, let alone what Kukyo was planning to do now she had disappeared. Not that it wasn't just what they needed, meaning they finally headed over, halfway between pleased at the idea they could move forward and complete the mission, helping out Kukyo and getting rid of Daraku, and confused at Kakashi's reaction.

"Okay…so you know, Kakashi-sensei. But…what? What is it that you know?" Naruto questioned, bewildered, waiting on Kakashi for his answer, growing more impatient by the second as he stayed quiet for a moment until, eventually, he turned to them both and began his explanation.

From what Kakashi had read, and from what he knew—his memories of what he'd heard from Kukyo and from that night with Daraku when she had disappeared—he had pretty good idea of what was going on. Ever since the first mission Kakashi had been sent on to the estate all those years ago when he had been in the ANBU, Konoha had kept an eye on the estate to make sure nothing else would happen to it. No one would try to use the space; no one would try to take anything from the buildings and use the machines or knowledge to replicate what had gone on there. It was how they had noticed that people had been seen in the area once again, and had thought something was going on. It was why they had decided to put Kakashi on that mission to check things out—to ask Kukyo to come back and help him.

Kukyo had been worried about who it might be from the beginning, yes. For fourteen years there had been nothing going on in the estate, and then for something to suddenly pop up…it had put her on edge. Just being there in general made her anxious overall, and even he could feel it. The atmosphere made Kakashi feel nervous himself—but he could understand more than ever now why she felt like that—the memories had seemed bad enough before. Then when she had found the signs that someone was starting things up again…it had really begun to scare her. Knowing Daraku was still out there, the possibility of it being him was a real one.

And then he had turned up that night. Kakashi understood now the strangeness of that situation. Starting things up again wasn't such a ridiculous idea for him, but doing so in the estate _was_. Daraku knew they'd keep an eye on things and instantly note any changes—he wouldn't be able to do a thing there. Looking back it seemed like he was purposefully acting careless—but even knowing that, for what reason would he do it? He couldn't just be doing it in order to make sure Konoha would know he was there. So there had to be something else—and Kakashi was sure he knew what it was now he'd seen Kukyo's cell and knew she'd been an experiment.

It was about Kukyo.

All along it was why Daraku had come to the estate—he was after her. That was why things had been so obviously placed; why people had been so easily noticed around the estate and why things were obviously going on. He had lured her in by making sure Konoha noticed it all, knowing they would send Kukyo in to check things out and she would come into contact with him. But naturally he didn't have his hideout in the estate anymore, with the village knowing the layout and its secrets too well by now—there was another place, however, nearby. Kukyo had written all the hideouts Daraku had on one piece of paper, and it was from there that Kakashi had figured out where he was. He needed to be nearby, and that one was closest.

The goals were the same as they had been in the past, but Daraku couldn't complete them as he was. It was with Kukyo that Daraku would be able to start the whole thing up again with his experiments: he needed her to be able to kidnap people as easily as he had done in Konoha, for one. She was fast, she was unnoticeable and she left no tracks. He needed her to keep everyone else away so they wouldn't be stopped, killing anyone who got in their way; killing any rogue experiments that went wrong or anyone that turned out to be a spy or chose to betray Daraku. She was definitely powerful enough for that; even before he had started experimenting on her she had shown talent with her ninja abilities, and it was why he had decided to test things on her.

And, of course, he needed her in terms of experiments in general. She had survived them, so he could check things about her body that might show why exactly that had happened and pick the next person from there. He could see how things progressed over time and see if he could do things to increase her power. She was the original experiment, and she was the only one to have survived such a huge amount to be done to her. He had had to get out of the estate quickly after it had all been destroyed, and there had been orders all over to keep an eye out for him, so he hadn't been able to just make his move straight away. He had needed to plan, but now everything was ready, and it was why he had come back.

Daraku knew exactly how things would turn out when he went to speak to Kukyo. He had lived his entire life with her and understood how she felt; the way the experiments still haunted her and the effects they would always have on her for the rest of her life. He could tell she hadn't told anyone about what she had done—that she was too ashamed of her past to confess, and that he could ultimately use that to his advantage. And everything had gone precisely as planned. Kukyo was becoming more and more anxious at finding that someone was trying to start experiments up again, wondering whether or not it was her father, at being in the estate again, and then just seeing him in general. It overwhelmed her and made her freeze.

Then when Kakashi turned up, though he couldn't have known, it only made things easier. It meant Daraku could tell him about her being the assassin—that it could all come out, and Kukyo would be ashamed. When he had been reading through the papers Kakashi had remembered what she had said when they'd been talking—after she had ended up admitting it:

_"Because I hated how things were. I didn't care of the danger it might bring—or what could happen. I just needed things to end."_

But it seemed more than that. As if she hated herself—that she didn't want to be like she was as well as not wanting things to be like they were. Kakashi had seen the look on her face after he had found out the truth; she was so upset and ashamed, and thinking about it now he got the feeling she wanted to change it more than anything. But with that in mind: realising that Kukyo had always seen herself as the bad guy, even with what Daraku had done to her, and now that everyone knew what she had done, Kakashi understood what she was planning on doing.

She was going to take her father down, yes.

But she was going to take herself out with him.


End file.
